This Is Not My Cat
by MissHoshigaki
Summary: "This isn't even my cat," Sakura protested. It wasn't Sakura's fault that animals liked her. She was just returning from a late shift at the hospital when she found the cat sitting in front of her door, mewling to get in. What is Sakura to do when a huge, mysterious man shows up at her door? Modern day KisaSaku AU with a sprinkle of platonic ItaSaku
1. Chapter 1

AN: This started out as a one-shot and it sort of took off from there. I hope you enjoy this silly AU.

"This isn't even my cat," Sakura protested, holding the black feline in her arms. It nuzzled her neck and purred loudly. Her landlord looked unconvinced.

"I just want it out of here by tomorrow," he held up his hands, not listening to her explanation.

It wasn't Sakura's fault that animals liked her. She was just returning from a late shift at the hospital when she found the cat sitting in front of her door, mewling to get in. As soon as she came into view it ran to her, snaking around her ankles and rubbing itself happily on her legs. She picked it up, wanting to check it for a collar to see if there was a phone number. There wasn't one. It was obviously not from the apartment building, they had a pretty strict 'no pet' policy, so it must have wandered in by accident to escape the snow and cold. That was also the moment her landlord happened to walk by.

"It's not-" but he was already gone. She stood in the middle of the hall, cat still purring away, starting to overheat in her thick coat and woollen hat.

She looked down at the cat, it gazed back at her with large yellow eyes, blinking slowly. "What am I going to do with you?" She scratched it under the chin, the purring intensified. Sakura fished her keys out of her purse and opened her door, allowing the cat to jump down into her apartment. It instantly made its way onto the couch, curling up on the soft cushions to groom itself. She shrugged off her coat, hanging it on a hook next to the door and hung her damp hat on the one beside it.

She sat beside the cat on the couch, opened her laptop, and began her search for the nearest animal shelter. There wasn't much else she could do. It didn't look like a stray, but there was no way she could canvas the neighbourhood by the next day and she wasn't going to just throw it outside in the dead of winter. Hopefully it had a microchip so the shelter could find the owner but that was out of her hands. "Sorry, kitty, it's off to the shelter with you." It meowed at her. "Well, you can't stay here." She frowned. It was awfully cute... And she had always wanted a pet.

There was a sharp knock at the door.

'Great,' she huffed, 'it's probably the landlord again.'

She hurried to the door and opened it. And looked up. And up.

"Hey, have you seen a cat?" The huge man asked. He filled up almost the whole door frame and looked like he would be at home in a shady MMA gym. She could see tattoos peaking out from under his fitted black long sleeve shirt on his wrists and neck, and to her horror and fascination, on his cheeks were two matching pairs of gills that almost faded into his peculiar skin tone. She had a sneaking suspicion there were a lot more that she couldn't see. "A black cat, about yeh big, freaky yellow eyes?"

This was a new face. Did he live here? She would have definitely remember someone so... large.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked, ignoring his question.

"Kisame," Kisame, apparently, breezed, "Now, about that cat?" The aforementioned cat jumped off the couch and scampered towards him, greeting him in the same friendly manner as it did her. He picked it up. "There you are, you little shit. Thanks." And with that, he left. No explanation.

She watched him stalk away with the happily purring cat, and then it occurred to her that she didn't even really know that it was his cat. How did he even get in the building? Did he live here or not?

"Wait!" she called after him, stuffing her keys in her pocket and shut the door to go after the possible catnapper and apartment invader, feeling like it was her duty to look after the poor lost cat who was obviously quite happy to be taken in by anyone, owner or not. She fell into stride with him and he gave her a slightly annoyed look but didn't protest. "Is it your cat? Do you even live here?"

"No and yes."

"What? So it's not your cat but you're taking it anyway?"

"It's my roommates," he answered, exasperated. He obviously thought her questions were stupid. Was she supposed to just let this guy have the cat without making sure it was his? She continued to follow him in silence, unsure of what to do next. This actually solved her problem and would save her a lot of time and gas, but it troubled her and she was already too invested to back down now. They stopped in front of a vaguely familiar door.

"You... you can't have cats in this apartment." She stated finally, needing to say something. He ignored her completely now, not even sparing her a glance. Kisame opened the door and on the other side, to her great surprise, was Uchiha Itachi.

"Kuro!" Itachi said with a glimmer of happiness showing from behind his coke bottle glasses, taking the cat in his arms. The cat immediately stopped purring and tried to squirm out of his grasp, yoweling, until Itachi let it jump down. He watched sadly as it scurry into their small living room and through a bedroom door. Itachi frowned. Once the cat was safely inside, Kisame shrugged and brushed past Itachi through the door and into the apartments bathroom, leaving Sakura standing in the hall alone. She stared after him in confusion.

"I didn't know you had a cat, Itachi," Sakura stated with a hint of accusation, switching her attention to the Uchiha, "or a roommate."

"Sakura, I haven't seen you in a while. Kisame moved in a few weeks ago," he half answered, evading the question about his contraband cat. He pushed his thick glassed further up the bridge of his nose. Now that she got a better look at him, she could see a multitude of red scratch marks decorating his forearms and a few thin fading scabs across his left cheek. "How's your job at the hospital?"

"So far, so good. I'm still getting used to coming home so late, I'm just happy I'm not getting as many overnight shifts," Sakura spit out her automatic answer. She was getting tired of people asking about it, the novelty of being a recent grad had worn off fairly quickly. "He's been here a few weeks already? I'm surprised I haven't seen him around before." Maybe he was unemployed and never left his room? Or perhaps a thug, only leaving to skulk around at night? She doubted he would live with Itachi, studious and responsible, if either scenarios were true.

"Well, he bartends at Ichiraku's down the street, so probably just miss him every night," he explained. Itachi glanced at his watch, and looked back at her. "Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?" He was ever the gracious host. Sakura smiled, maybe she could get the latest gossip about her allusive friend Sasuke.

"That would be lovely." Itachi's younger brother, and her former highschool classmate, was currently at a far away university and unless he was visiting his brother or she was lucky enough that he picked up his phone, he was impossible to pin down. She had resigned herself to hearing second hand information from Itachi, who coincidently lived in her building.

She entered his apartment in which she has spent plenty of evenings when Sasuke was staying there, realizing this was probably the first time she had ever been there without her childhood friend acting as a buffer. Not that he was very talkative, but at least she had a reason to be there when he was down. She didn't know very much about her friends mysterious older brother, but she guessed this was a good opertunity to find out. She sat at in the tiny living room, making herself comfortable on an overstuffed armchair while the raven haired man brought over the coffee and a beautifully arranged plate of various cookies. It was almost annoying how good he was at entertaining guests.

"So how long have you had a cat?" She really, really wanted to know how he had managed to hide it from their nosy landlord. She took a cookie.

Itachi stayed silent for so long she thought that maybe he was just going to continue to avoid the question, but finally he answered. "I found him about a month ago, without a collar, so I brought him in."

"What did you name him? Kuro?" What she really wanted to know was how he smuggled him in.

"Yes." Out of all of his skills, creativity was not one of them. He had a happy glow about him when he talked about the cat, obviously quite pleased to have it.

"Fitting," she grinned, "He a very friendly cat; I've never met a cat that let me pick it up right away." Itachi laughed nervously and tucked a long strand of hair behind his ear and she remembered the collection of claw marks on his arms. However much he loved the cat, it didn't seem to share his feelings.

In the back of her mind, she wondered where Kisame had disappeared off to when the door to the bathroom opened and he appeared wearing only a fluffy white towel. Droplets of water glistened in his hair and rolled down his toned back. Her suspicions were right; he was covered in tattoos. Almost every square inch of exposed skin was inked with little space to spare, and from what little she could see, his lower body was probably just as decorated. The only places that weren't tattooed were his hands and around the front of his neck above his clavicles. She had to look away when she noticed both his nipples were pierced.

Kisame snorted, ignoring her stare and subsequent blush. "I don't know what cat you're talking about. That little shit is a monster." He walked into the kitchen, unabashed by his near nakedness in front of a stranger and poured himself a cup of coffee. "You should've named him Lucifer."

"He didn't seem to mind you," Sakura remarked, remembering how Kuro greeted him and purred in his arms, calmly letting him carry it all the way down the hall without incident.

"I'm the exception," he grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. He walked towards one of the bedrooms, grabbing a handful of cookies off the plate and shut the door behind himself, only to open it again to shoo the cat out. Kuro avoided Itachi and jumped up onto Sakura's lap. Itachi looked forlorn.

"Anyways, you should know that the landlord saw Kuro and thought he was mine. I can tell him I got ride of him, but please try to keep him out of view. I don't think he'd be too happy with me if he saw the cat again," Sakura warned him; she didn't think she could be evicted because of a cat, but she wouldn't put it past their landlord and she rather liked living there. She scratched the cat behind the ears.

"I'm sorry to involve you in this," Itachi apologized, watching sadly as the cat allowed her to pet it without injury. "He seems to like you a lot."

"Animals have always liked me, I have no idea why."

"You can come visit him sometime," he said, surprising Sakura, "if you want."

Sakura smiled. "I'd love that!"


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and/or followed this story!

* * *

Sakura returned a few days later after work, a cardboard tray of coffee in her hands. Itachi assured her that she could drop by any evening and there was no need to call before hand. She still felt the need to bring some sort of gift, and thus the coffee.

When she knocked on the door it was opened a few moments later by none other than the heavily tattooed Kisame. He eyed the coffee right away, looking tired and in need of caffeine. She removed one of the cups from the cardboard and offered it to him, thankful that she thought to get him one. "I wasn't sure how you liked it, so yours is black, no sugar."

"Perfect," he accepted the beverage and stepped aside to let her pass through the threshold of the apartment. She set the other two drinks on the kitchen table while Kisame relaxed back into his spot on the couch in front of the tv. Sakura looked around the otherwise empty room.

"Is Itachi here?" She questioned, she had sort of assumed that he would be at home, but that appeared not to be the case.

"Nope." Kisame flipped through the channels, finally settling on one that was showing an action movie with plenty of explosions and bad dialogue. Sakura shuffled her feet.

"Is he coming back or..." Maybe she should just leave. Kuro made an appearance, meowing to get her attention. She picked him up, feeling slightly awkward to be in her friend's brother's apartment when neither of them were there.

"He should be back soon," he said, looking back at her and added: "Make yourself at home" gesturing vaguely to the living room. His attention was immediately sucked back to the tv. Sakura hesitated for a moment, and then decided to join him, sitting in the same armchair as the last time.

'Back soon' turned out to be an hour and a half. Sakura didn't mean to stay the whole time but she had managed to get glued to the television. She didn't have cable in her apartment, due to a limited budget and the idea that food and rent was more important than entertainment, so watching a random movie was a treat. Kisame wasn't half bad company either. One of her pet peeves about watching movies with either Ino or Naruto is that they couldn't go ten minutes without asking a question or making an unnecessary comment, so she rarely enjoyed watching movies with them. Kisame was mostly silent, except for the occasional sarcastic remark, and Sakura appreciated that. He was also pretty easy to bum snacks off of, only taking a bit of pestering to share the bag of chips he held in his lap. Eventually she move to the couch and the bag remained in the middle for the remainder of the movie. Kuro alternated between the two, depending on who was giving him the most attention. Sakura and the cat ended up dozing threw the last ten minutes of action, somehow blocking out the sound effects of the many unexplained explosions.

Itachi walked through the door just as the credits started rolling, jolting Sakura out of her light sleep and startling the napping cat that took one look at it's owner and bolted into Kisame's bedroom. To her surprise, Sasuke followed behind his brother, carrying a bulging duffel bag. He scowled as soon as he laid eyes on Sakura, and glared at Itachi.

"I thought I told you not to tell anyone I was coming down," he grumbled. 'Hello, to you too, Sasuke,' Sakura thought, running the sleep out of her eyes. He was her friend, but he sure was irritating.

"I didn't tell anyone," Itachi answered evenly, used to his ill-tempered brother. He took Sasuke's bag and stowed it beside the couch. Sasuke looked confused.

"Why is she here then?" he demanded as if she wasn't in the room. Itachi opened his mouth to answer, probably politely, when Sakura decided it was time to cut in.

"I'm here to visit Itachi and Kuro."

"Kuro?" Sasuke asked, "Who the fuck is Kuro?"

"I have a cat now," Itachi beamed quietly. Sasuke shook his head and rolled his eyes. The more pleasant Uchiha ignored the other and turned to Sakura. "I'm sorry I wasn't here, I should have mentioned I was having company tonight. Kisame didn't tell you?" Sakura gave Kisame an unimpressed look.

"No," she emphasized, still looking at him, "he didn't."

Kisame just shrugged, back to flipping through channels. "Hey, you didn't ask."

"Well it's getting late, I guess I should go now," Sakura said, looking at the tv clock, not wanting to intrude on Uchiha brother bonding time. She looked pointedly at Sasuke, catching his eye. "Nice seeing you, stop by while you're here." Sasuke made no indication of his intentions to visit, but she could count on him stopping by at least once when he was in town, although it would probably be when he was leaving to go back home.

Despite his attitude, she knew Sasuke valued their friendship enough to acknowledge her existence, but it was always on his own terms. She wondered if Itachi gained his patience for unruly cats from dealing with his brother. She said her goodbyes to the three men and made her way back to her apartment.

On Friday when Sakura returned home from one of her rare afternoon shifts, she found Sasuke leaning against the wall beside her door, waiting for her. "Good afternoon," she greeted, he grunted in response. "Did you need something or are you coming to visit?"

"Itachi wanted me to tell you he's throwing a party on Saturday." He pushed off the wall, hands in his pockets, but made no move to leave. "It starts at seven." She quickly ran through her schedule, realizing that she was actually free for the whole weekend. She was planning on taking the weekend to catch up on housework and missed sleep, but a party sounded like more fun and she would regret not going later.

"Let him know I'll be there."

"Let him know yourself," Sasuke shot back, but still didn't leave. She unlocked the door and Sasuke followed her in, going straight to the fridge and cracked open a can of pop while she hung up her coat. He sniffed at the fact it was diet but drank it anyways. Sakura chatted for the next twenty minutes while Sasuke pretended to ignore her, occasionally contributing and almost made it a conversation. She still wondered how they had remained friends for so long while he seemed not to care at all. He kept coming back, so she supposed that was something.

"See you on Saturday," he announced when he decided his visit was over. "Bring a cake."

"A cake?"

"It's a birthday party," Sasuke responded, as if the answer should have been obvious.

"Thanks for the heads up," Sakura muttered, closing the door. She took out her laptop and began researching recipes. Usually she would use a cake mix, but she didn't have any in the cupboard and she didn't want to brave the cold weather if she could avoid it.

She had all of the ingredients, even a tub of icing, except she was missing exactly one egg. She considered going out, reasoning she would have to do it sooner or later, but decided to just wander down the hall and see if Itachi had one to spare. She apparently needed to RSVP herself anyways, even thought she was 90% sure Sasuke would do it for her despite refusing to before.

Itachi came to the door wearing a simple black apron, long hair in a bun. He looked uncharacteristically frazzled.

"Is everything okay, Itachi?" She was alarmed to find him anything other than calm and collected.

"I'm fine," he answered sheepishly, "It's just... Did Sasuke tell you about the party? I'm in charge of catering and, unfortunately, I'm not a very good cook." She had a hard time believing that. Uchiha Itachi, bad at something?

"Funny you should mention that, I was wondering if you had an egg. Sasuke said I had to bring a cake." Sakura peered toward the kitchen. It looked like a disaster zone. Reluctantly, she stepped up. "Do you want some help? I don't mind..."

"I don't want to bother you," he insisted, but she could hear desperation in in voice. She could tell he really, really needed her help.

"I have nothing else to do." She put on a brave face and hoped for the best.

Cooking with Itachi was a nightmare. No wonder Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. It was like everything he touched instantly burnt, or burst into flames in some cases. Now that she thought about it, every time he had served her something it had been pre-made or required minimal cooking. How he hadn't burnt down the entire apartment complex already, she would never know. Eventually, they made a sufficient amount of food for the next day that seemed mostly appetizing, as long as they picked out all of the charred bits.

"Thank you so much, Sakura," Itachi said sincerely, finally handing over the egg.

"No big deal, really," Sakura assured, even though it was a bit touch and go at some points. Overcoming struggles built character, right? She was just happy that they both still had eyebrows and they didn't have to evacuate the building. Before she took her egg and ran, she remembered a question she should ask before showing up tomorrow. "Who's birthday is it anyway?"

"Sasuke didn't tell you?" Sakura shook her head. "Of course he didn't. It's Kisame's birthday. I'm also inviting some of our friends; you don't have to stay the whole time but I'm sure Sasuke will be happy to have someone his age around. They can be a bit... rowdy." Sakura wondered what friends of Kisame looked like and what exactly he meant by 'rowdy,' but she decided to keep her mind open until she arrive the next day.

"Should I bring anything else?" She asked.

"You've already done more than enough," Itachi answered swiftly, shooing her out the door before she offered any more help. By the time she finished baking the cake, let it cool and iced it, it was already 1 AM.

Sakura ended up sleeping in until 10 and had a late breakfast. She dedicated at least the next few hours to cleaning and laundry that she needed to get done before Monday. It was well past lunch time by the time she hauled the last load of clothes up from the basement when her phone rang. She checked the number before picking up; Ino. She braced herself.

"Hey, Ino, what's up?"

"I hear you're getting pretty friendly with Sasuke's brother." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"And how did you hear that?" Ino was silent. "Don't tell me Sasuke was gossiping about me."

"Well, not directly to me, if that's what you're asking," she drawled, "Tenten told me that Lee told her that Naruto heard from Sasuke that you were hanging around his brother and his roommate. Now: spill."

Sakura regaled her the story about the chance meeting with the cat and how she was now invited to Kisame's birthday party that also included a 'rowdy' group of strangers. Ino was thoroughly impressed. "I have to hand it to you, forehead, that's one hell of a story. If I weren't otherwise attached, I would be there in an instant."

"How are things with Mr. Nara?"

"Oh, as usual," Ino started, and dove into full detain mode, telling Sakura way more information than she needed to know. She had time to eat a full meal while she examined and cross examined every facet of her relationship. "Anyways, give me a call tomorrow and tell me everything. Fingers crossed they're all hot and single."

"Sure thing, Ino. Talk to you later."

It was fast approaching 5:30 and Sakura decided that it was about time to start getting ready. She jumped in the shower, washing away the sweat she had worked up from walking up the flights of stairs carrying the heavy baskets of clothes. The building wasn't huge, it only had four floors including the basement, but Sakura had a lot of clothes and she lived on the top level. She blow dried her short hair and styled it until it was under control.

Next, she had to pick out an appropriate outfit to wear to a strangers birthday at her childhood friend's brother's apartment. She almost wished Ino was there to help. It seemed like a dress would be too fancy, a skirt would be too cold, and jeans and a sweater would be to casual. She settled on fitted black plants and her go-to red shirt. On second thought, it was a good thing Ino wasn't there, she would have been furious with her lack of creativity. It was getting close to crunch time, so Sakura hurried it up and applied her makeup.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: There is a lot of alcohol, swearing and probably poor choices in this chapter. Heads up if any of that bothers you. Otherwise, please enjoy!

* * *

She stood in front of Itachi's door at precisely 7 o'clock, wondering if she was totally lame for showing up on time or if it was okay because she lived a few doors down. 'I'm here already, I should just knock.' She balanced the cake haphazardly on one hand and wrapped on the door with the other. Sasuke opened it without a word, saw it was her and went back to sit in his chair, leaving her to shove the door closed with her foot. She took quick stock of the room, noticing that Kisame wasn't there yet and the decorations were only half put up with no help coming from Sasuke.

Itachi looked flustered again, busy in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the food they prepared the day before, glancing nervously at the pile of solo cups, paper pates, and decorations still in their packages. Sakura deposited the cake on the counter and started to help him. He silently thanked her, once again looking very grateful.

The first guests, besides Sakura who had now taken up the unofficial role of co-host, arrived at 7:28 with two 24 cases of beer. Sakura got her first taste of 'rowdy.'

"Where the fuck is everyone?" The blond man growled, dropping the boxes carelessly on the floor by the kitchen table, bottles klinking loudly. He was about Itachi's height and extremely pale. Once she got a look at the pink-ish tinge to his iris's she wondered if he had a slight variation of albinism. Before Itachi could answer, another man walked through the door. He was dressed all in black and was almost as tall as Kisame, his glossy brown hair was gathered into a loose pony tail that spilled down his back. She couldn't decide what was more alarming: the fact that he had black sclera or the jagged scars running from the corners of his mouth to below his ears. 'Both,' she settled. Dispite the general impression of danger, he also had an air of sucess about him that made her think he was probably a business man (or a mob boss?). The first man turned to the other, and shouted across the small room. "Oi! 'Kuzu, we're the first ones here. Should've fucking known those shit artist wouldn't show up on time. Goddamn flaky bastards."

"I told you not to call me that," he rumbled, shrugging off his coat revealing a finely tailored suit. He folded his expensive looking jacket precisely in half and draped it across his arm protectively. Itachi pointed him towards the bedroom turned coat check where they would be stowing the outerwear where he reluctantly deposited his coat.

"Sakura, this is Kakuzu," gesturing to the intimidating man who acknowledged her with a curt nod, "and Hidan."

"Hey," Hidan purred, giving her a drawn out once over with a slimy grin on his handsome face and sauntered towards her, he even threw in a wink which only maximized his creep factor. She gave him a tight lipped smile, hoping he would get the hint that she wasn't interested in whatever he was offering. He seemed undeterred. "I haven't seen you before, babe. Where'd they find you?"

"I'm a friend of Sasuke's," Sakura grimaced at the pet name, and added: "I also live down the hall."

"I didn't know that little shit had friends. Seriously"

"I'm right here, you know," Sasuke barked from his seat in the armchair, engaged in some kind of handheld gaming system, looking up only to glare at Hidan.

"So?" he retorted, losing interest in Sakura and focusing in on the younger Uchiha, "Gonna do something about it, bitch?"

"Sasuke," Itachi cut in swiftly, attempting to diffuse the situation, "Why don't you put the beer in the fridge." For a split second it looked like neither of the men were going to back down and it seemed like a fight was imminent, but then Sasuke huffed and started his appointed task. Kakuzu looked completely unfazed, already sitting in one of the chairs with a beer in his hand.

Itachi and Sakura continued their busy task of setting up the final detail. Hidan was delegated honorary DJ to keep him busy and out of trouble while they waited for the rest of the group. He carefully picked through the CD's, choosing some kind of rock music and turned it up. Sakura wondered how long it would take before they got a noise complaint. Just as they were stringing up the final streamers and setting up an impressive home bar, Kisame arrive with two more people in tow. They were only an 45 minutes late.

"Fucking late to your own party," Hidan shouted, clapping the large man on the back. Kisame moved to ruffle the blond's hair causing him to bob and weave to protect his neatly gelled hair. "Watch it! Just because it's your party won't stop me from beating the shit out of you!"

Itachi looked like he was finally starting to calm down now that everything was put together and all the guest had arrived, but he still kept on his feet, ready to hand out coasters when it looked like someone was going to put a wet glass on his nice furniture. Sakura was introduced to Deidara and Sasori once they had deposited their coats in the other room. They seemed like the most normal out of the group. The flaky artists, apparently.

Sakura sat on the couch across from the younger Uchiha who was ignoring her, almost empty beer in hand, wondering exactly what she should do now. She only knew two of the people here, but Itachi seemed busy and Sasuke wasn't the chatting type. She could mingle, but first supposed she should at least wish Kisame a happy birthday. She stood and quickly found him at the makeshift bar mixing a complicated looking drink, showing off his bar-tending skills. 'Impressive,' she thought as she watched him flip a glass from the back of his hand high into the air and caught it behind his back. She finished her beer and approached him.

"What's your poison?" he called over the loud music, effortlessly swinging around two spirit bottles in a complicated pattern. Sakura paused. She didn't really know the names of any fancy drinks, usually it was Ino's job to order when they went out.

"Rum and coke?" That was a pretty standard one, right?

"Boring," Kisame answered back, "How about... a Midori Sour? Or a Rusty Nail?"

"Midori Sour sounds good," She didn't honestly know what it was, but it sounded better than a Rusty Nail.

"Coming right up!" Kisame began spinning bottles and arranging her drink. She was memorized by the display. An arm snaked around her shoulders, Deidara coming into view beside her. She wasn't sure if she appreciated the unnecessary contact.

"How's it going, Sakura?" He asked, face already flushed from alcohol. He certainly smelt like booze. "Wanna do a Jager Bomb, yeah?" He had a very inviting smile and she was almost tempted to take him up on the offer. Kisame cut in.

"You're not doing Jager Bombs," Kisame said, shaking his head. Deidara pouted. "Remember what happened last time? I'm not cleaning that up at my party. You probably shouldn't drink anymore as it is."

"Come on," Deidara whined, still hanging off Sakura, almost dragging her off balance, "I"m not even drunk yet!" He was definitely drunk. Once he realized that Kisame would not relent, he went off to sneak a beer from the fridge when he wasn't looking. Kisame handed Sakura pretty bright green drink and poured himself a shot of some kind of liquor.

"Happy Birthday," Sakura toasted, lifting her glass to him. He klinked it with his shot glass and knocked it back.

Once everyone was thoroughly saturated with drink, some more than others, Itachi lit the candles on the cake and they sang a roaring and off-tune rendition of 'Happy Birthday' which ended up with Deidara falling off his chair. He didn't seem to mind. Sasori, the designated driver in charge of driving Kakuzu, Hidan and Deidara home, did not look impressed.

The rest of the night became a bit hazy after Hidan convinced her to drink a few shots of Porn Star. Even Sasuke, the least likely to participate in any party activities, joined in. He eventually crashed on the overstuffed armchair, completely out of it. The more she drank the easier it went down and the more she got along with the ragtag group of unlikely friends.

* * *

Sakura was woken by the sounds of muffled conversation. With the slightest movement she became painfully aware of her pounding headache and the nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach, and stopped moving altogether. She furrowed her brows and buried her face into the soft pillow, blocking out as much of the light streaming through the blinds as possible. It took her a few moments to fully take stock of where she was and what she remembered. It was all a bit... blurry.

This was not her room. This was not her bed. And the soft black animal that was curled up on the pillow beside her was still not her cat, no matter how much it seemed to like her.

Slowly, she sat up and rubbed her face with both hands and threaded her fingers through her hair, smoothing it down as best she could. As she surveyed the room, concluding it was Itachi's, judging by how tidy it was. Thankfully the man himself was nowhere to be seen and the other side of the bed appeared to be unslept in. That was a good sign. She spied her phone sitting on the bedside table, and scrolled through the messages, praying that she hadn't drunk texted or call anyone.

'Only Ino,' she let out a sigh of relief. She was going to get an earful for texting her friend at 3 in the morning, but it was usually the other way around so she was sure she could appease her with details of the night. She could deal with that.

She continued to look through her phone, finally checking the photos. She had taken a mess of drunk selfies in the bathroom. Deidara even appeared in a few of them, both of them posing with great enthusiasm. She gulped when she reached one where she was kissing his cheek and his arm was wrapped snugly around her waist with a happy look on his flushed face. She almost didn't want to look at the next one, fearing the worst, but the rest of them were purely platonic, much to her relief. Once she almost reached the end of the reel, her eyes widened. There were quite a few pictures taken by someone else of her and Itachi passed out on the couch together, practically snuggling, after the party had ended and everyone had left. She could also see half a sleeping Sasuke draped across the large arm chair, head at an awkward angle. The last two were selfies of Kisame with an amused mock-disappointed expression, with her and Itachi in the background.

She flopped back onto the bed, feeling the embarrassment creeping across her face. Maybe the only evidence was on her phone and she could just delete the pictures like it never happened.

'I can't stay in here forever...' she supposed, even if she wanted to. She didn't think she did anything terribly embarrassing, but she was only 80% sure. Sakura stood cautiously, still feeling queasy and ran her hands down her shirt, straightening it out. She had to shield her eyes from the light when she opened the bedroom door.

"Welcome to the world of the living," Kisame cackled. She winced; was he being loud on purpose? The Uchiha brothers looked as bad as she felt, already seated at the table in silence with mugs of steaming coffee.

"Morning," Sakura croaked. It was definitely a good thing she wasn't working today. She sat at one of the empty spots at the table, cradling her head in her hands. "Sorry I took your bed, Itachi."

"That's my room actually," Kisame said, scraping scrambled eggs around on a large frying pan. He was apparently unaffected from the copious amount of alcohol he had consumed. If she didn't feel so sick she'd blush. It seemed like one thing to sleep in Itachi's bed, whom she had know for a while, but it was something else to sleep in a strangers bed. "I would have taken you back to your apartment, but I couldn't remember which one was yours. You were pretty out of it." He snickered.

"Sorry," she mumbled, "I don't know what got into me..."

"We're all blaming Hidan," Itachi grumbled, taking a sip of coffee.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I'm so happy that you guys seem to really like my story and I love reading your reviews! When I started this I thought it was going to be another one-shot but it (obviously) got way out of hand. Hope you enjoy chapter four!

* * *

"I swear I'll be back in a hour to help clean up," she assured Itachi. She felt bad, really bad. It had been a long while since the last time she had drank so much that she couldn't remember the whole evening. And to top it all off she had been such a mess that the person who the party was for had to give up their bed. Kisame probably had to sleep on the pullout couch, of all things. She doubted it was made for someone of his size.

"That's not necessary, Sakura," Itachi pleaded quietly, still barely keeping it together. It make her feel better that she was not alone in making bad choices the night before. Both of the Uchiha brothers turned out to be total lightweights. Sasuke had retreated back into Itachi's dark room to sleep off his hangover in silence after forcing down some coffee and eggs, looking even paler than usual. She wondered how Deidara was doing this morning; she doubted he would be surfacing until the evening.

"See you in an hour." She wasn't going to give him an option. She was going to shower, take some pills for her headache, hopefully eat something, and then she would be back with a vengeance. It was the least she could do. The small apartment was a mess.

Had her apartment always been so far away? And what about those lights, since when were they so bright?

It was a struggle, but she made it back to her place. She pealed last nights clothes off in the bathroom, eager to jump in the shower. She didn't even want to look at herself in the mirror. She probably had raccoon eyes after sleeping with her makeup on. She showered, taking her time, and emerged a new woman.

She ran her tongue across her teeth. 'Disgusting.' So many sweet drinks had given her teeth sweaters. She scrubbed them until they were glossy and smooth.

Next on her list was food. She didn't want to but she knew she must. Sakura settled for a plain piece of toast, nibbling on the corner. It felt like sawdust in her mouth, but she powered through it. She paired it with a hefty glass of water, taking the opportunity to swallow a few pills.

She let herself back into Itachi's apartment without knocking this time. Knocking would only cause pain and suffering.

"Feeling any better?" Kisame asked, keeping his voice down this time. He was stretched out on the couch with Kuro watching a movie with the volume turned almost all the way down. That was surprisingly considerate. "Itachi had to go lie down. Looks like cleaning is up to you." She should have guessed he wouldn't help, but that was okay, she assured herself. He shouldn't have to clean up his own birthday party.

"I'm still walking, so there's that," Sakura grumbled in response, grabbing a few red cups off a bookcase on her way to find a garbage bag. For only eight people, they had sure used a lot of cups. Once she had rounded up all of the plates and other disposables she set to work on locating all of the empty beer bottles which were scattered all around the living room and returned them to their box to be taken back to the liquor store. She even found a few in the bathtub,. 'That was probably Deidara,' she guessed, thinking back to the bathroom selfies. 'I wonder when I'll see them again.' Disregarding the fact that she lost a few hours, she had had a blast, and she would jump at the opportunity to join them again. If she was invited back, that was.

She slumped into the armchair with a glass of water to take a break after tackling a good half of her job. Kisame was watching another bad action movie, centering around another white male in his early thirties with a five o'clock shadow and a pension for causing everything to explode. "Having fun?" Kisame asked with a grin, apparently finding it very amusing that she had to clean all by herself.

"I'm having a blast," Sakura deadpanned. She finished off her water. At least her headache was gone. "So, did you have a good birthday?"

"Well, no one threw up this year, which is a first, so I'd say: yeah, it was pretty good." He glanced at her, and mumbled: "I had a rough night's sleep though." She knew he was teasing, but she still felt the need to apologize again.

"I'm really sorry about that." Sakura rubbed the back of her neck. Did he think that was a normal thing for her? "I swear I don't drink like that all the time..."

"Compared to Deidara you did just fine," he snickered. "If anyone was going to win the award for sloppiest drunk it'd be him. You might be runner up though." He winked at her and she stuck out her tongue.

"I don't know about that; Itachi and Sasuke seem to be worse off than me right now."

"Fine, fine," Kisame conceded, "Deidara, Sasuke and then Itachi and you tie for third." They both laughed.

"I'll take third place, that's not too bad," she agreed, decided her break was over and stood up. It was time to attempt to clean the kitchen.

It took 35 minutes of hard labor to make the small kitchen spotless. At one point she saw Itachi emerge from his bedroom and head for the bathroom. Soon after the door shut, she could hear the roar of the shower turning on. She still hadn't seen Sasuke since that morning and she guessed he was still sleeping it off. Fifteen minutes later Itachi made his way back to his room silently and fully dressed, glasses still foggy from the heat of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his head.

Kisame shut off the tv and stretched. He placed the cat on the ground, it meowed in protest but he ignored it. "I've gotta go to work. You can stay as long as you like, but I'd appreciate it if I could have my bed tonight." He stripped off his tee shirt as he walked to his room and Sakura couldn't help but stare after him. If she ever got the chance, she was going to ask him about his tattoos. He returned wearing work pants and a tee that read 'Ichiraku's' across the front. He grabbed his coat, pulled on a toque and wrapped a thick scarf around his neck. He waved goodbye as he walked out the door.

"See you later," she called. She decided to call it quits after another ten minutes, she had done everything she could, and fed the cat when she noticed it was sitting expectantly at it's food bowl. Sakura realized it was already the late afternoon and she had only eaten a piece of toast. Her stomach rumbled, hungry for the first time that day. She wondered if she had anything in her fridge.

There was a knock at the door, and before she could decide if she was going to answer it, it swung open. Deidara stumbled in, looking as bad as she imagined he would. He had large framed sunglasses covering his eyes and his hair was not as quaffed as it had been for the party. "You're still here, yeah?" he asked as he headed toward the box of empty bottles, heaving one up.

"Just finished cleaning." He nodded in understanding and headed back toward the door. "Do you want me to carry the other one down?"

"Really? You'd do that?"

"I may as well," Sakura shrugged, taking pity on the haggard blond and picked up the other box.

"You're a life saver, Sakura," he cheered, but kept his voice at a low level. They both struggled down the stairs, the heavy boxes rattled with each step.

"How were you this morning?" Sakura asked, concentrating on not falling.

"Like death. I still feel like I'll drop any second but Kakuzu demanded we get the return on these empties _today_," Deidara grumbled. She could practically feel his eyes rolling behind the dark shades. "It's better than last year though, yeah."

"What happened last year?" Kisame had mentioned something about that last night too. Something about jager bombs?

"I have no idea!" He laughed gleefully. "I woke up the next day with a street sign in my bed." They both laughed precariously down the next flight to stairs.

Finally, they reached the bottom and Deidara opened the door to outside, letting Sakura out first. She spotted Sasori sitting in a rusty old car parked a few spaces from the entrance. She hurried to the trunk, not wanting to stay in the cold any longer than she needed. She heard the trunk latch release and she stowed the empties and waited for Deidara to catch up. He slammed the trunk closed once both boxes were secure.

"Thanks for the help, yeah," Deidara said, giving her a surprise hug and a quick pat on the back, she mirrored his actions. Who knew; he was a hugger. She waved goodbye and rushed back into the warmth of the lobby as they drove away.

She trudged slowly back up the stairs, checking her phone as she ascended the steps. There were at least three texts from Ino, all demanding that she call her immediately. She dialed her number as soon as she was inside her apartment again, and flopped down on her bed, making herself comfortable.

"Hey," she muttered when Ino picked up.

"Geez, Sakura, you waited long enough," Ino scolded, but got straight to the point, "Tell me everything, spare no detail. Were they hot? Were they single?"

"I don't know for sure if any of them are single."

"But they're hot though?" Ino asked, "It's important I know these things."

"All of them are solidly attractive," Sakura decided, recalling all of their faces. They were, and she wasn't complaining. Even Kakuzu, as long as he wasn't looking directly at her. "You might be interested to know that Sasuke and Itachi are both lightweights."

"Really?" Ino absorbed the new facts like a sponge.

"Yeah. They're completely out of it today." She was just going to leave out the fact that she had also had some trouble.

"You sounded pretty out of it last night, judging from your texts," Ino teased, "Did you make it home alright?"

"Well..."

"No!" Sakura held the receiver away from her ear. "Don't tell me you spent the night! Oh, Sakura, you really are getting friendly with Sasuke's brother." She sounded way too pleased.

"Actually, I slept in his roommate's bed," Sakura stated offhandedly, and before her friend started shrieking, she quickly added: "By myself. He slept on the couch."

"Hmm, that's the one with all the tattoo's right? What do you think?"

"What do I think of what?"

"Of the roommate! What do you think of him?" Ino implored, apparently dieing to hear her sing the praises of at least one boy. Sakura hadn't really had her eyes on anyone after she got over her long standing crush on Sasuke, of all people. She considered Kisame for a while; the thought hadn't crossed her mind before.

"I don't know. He's funny and a really good bartender, apparently." She pondered some more. Those tattoos... "I guess he's also pretty attractive."

"That's the spirit!" Ino cheered.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Sorry for the wait! Here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it. Just a heads up, this chapter contains use of alcohol in case that is not your cup of tea.

* * *

Ino came over the following week in the evening, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mysterious man who had sort of caught Sakura's eye under the guise of visiting Sasuke. Sakura refused to tell her which apartment was his, knowing full well she would find a way inside and embarrass her. Ino with a mission was a dangerous Ino. Besides, Sasuke had already left to go back to university, so there was no real reason for her to casually drop by.

"We're going out," Ino insisted, pawing through Sakura's collection of dresses and disapproving of 90% of them. Not enough cleavage, apparently, to which Sakura responded she didn't have much cleavage to show. She finally found the little burgundy number that Sakura rarely wore because of how tight and revealing it was and threw it at Sakura, covering her pink head. Ino pulled out a simple black dress for herself.

"It's Wednesday," Sakura deadpanned, pulling the dress off her head but knew full well that that would do little to deter her blonde friend. She signed and changed into the dress anyway, not fighting it today.

"It's going to be fun!," she exclaimed, "Neither of us work tomorrow. You're young, pretty and single; you should live a little!" Ino picked out some jewelry for the both of them, and insisted that Sakura wear her push-up bra and high heels, saying something about good first impressions. She complied.

They spent the next hour pre-drinking and dancing to music in Sakura's small bedroom. Sakura was determined to drink moderately and not over do it for the second time in two weeks, but it was going to be a challenge with Ino there to encourage her.

Sakura checked her makeup one more time in the hall mirror and grabbed her small purse off the back of a kitchen chair, making sure she had her keys, ID and some cash. The two women bundled up and started their quick walk out into the cold to hail a taxi on the busy street. They huddled together in the back of the toasty car, trying to regain their body heat .

"Take us to Ichiraku's, please," Ino declared, she rubbed her hands together to warm them up, but to Sakura it look like she was scheming.

"Really?" Sakura was not impressed. Of course that's where they were going.

"What? I'm going to see him some way or another, you know that," Ino smiled mischievously, "It's supposed to be a good bar anyway."

Ten minutes later they were stepping out of the taxi in front of a large building, a few people milling around near the entrance smoking in the snow banks. It seemed busy for a Wednesday night. They rushed inside to get out of the cold, and waited in the long but fast moving queue to get into the actual club. The music was already deafening from where they were standing and they weren't even at the heart of it yet. Ino smiled and flashed her ID, managing to get them in free of cover charge with a bit of sweet talking and subtle cleavage. They checked their coats at the entrance.

The two women filtered into the dense crowd, looking around at the packed club, getting their bearings. Ichiraku's was a decently sized club consisting of a main level that served as the dance floor with a high ceiling and a grand staircase that lead to an upper level balcony that overlooked the club below. The second level appeared to be more of a VIP lounge, with haughty patrons sitting around plush booth tables with pricey bottle service, observing the writhing pit below with distaste. Ino made an immediate bee-line for the bar which resided on the opposite wall, bathed in colourful lights and surrounded by men and women vying for the attention of either of the two bartenders. She recognized them both instantly.

Kisame and Hidan had their hands full, each working one side of the long bar, serving drinks left, right and center. Sakura wondered how much they made in tips on a night like this; she imagined it would be somewhere in the triple digits.

Sakura hadn't know that Hidan also worked as a bartender, but there he was, swinging bottles and pouring cocktails. His flair technique seemed far more chaotic and dangerous than Kisame's and she wouldn't be surprised if he incorporated fire into his show at some point. He just looked the type to try something like that.

Ino leaned in close to Sakura as they maneuvered their way through the dance floor, keeping a hand on her arm so they didn't get separated. "Which one is it?"

"The tall one is Kisame," Sakura answered back, "The blond one is Hidan." Her friend nodded in appreciation, but her eyes seem to gravitate to Hidan, who was classically handsome with a square jaw and a straight nose. She would have been worried if Ino wasn't already dating Shikamaru, one of the only partners Sakura approved of. Ino had a bad track record in regards to past boyfriends, usually hanging on the arm of a pretty douchebag, and Hidan looked like he would fit the part perfectly.

Sakura felt sufficiently jostled by the time they fought their way in front of the counter, trying not to think about all the sweat she had gleaned from passing strangers. She made sure to end up on the side Kisame was managing and waved to get his attention. He smiled when he recognized her, ignoring the patrons that were there before her and leaned in close to talk to her.

"Fancy meeting you here," Kisame shouted over the music; he was close enough that she could smell his cologne and it smelt surprisingly familiar, bringing to mind the smell of his sheets. "What'll you have?"

"Two Midori Sours, please." He nodded, placing the green drinks down a minute later. She held out a few bills, but he pushed the money away.

"On the house," he winked, "But don't expect any more freebies." Sakura mouthed a 'thank you,' left a generous tip, and handed Ino her drink. She steered her friend away from the bar and toward a calmer corner so they could sip their drinks without an overeager dancer bumping into them.

"What do you think?" Sakura inquired, knowing that Ino was just dying for her to ask what she thought. Ino rarely got to talk about Sakura's dating prospects, mostly because she didn't have any, and she was starved for the experience.

"I think," Ino paused, taking a dramatic pull from her drink, "You could totally tap that if you wanted to." She smiled and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Be serious," Sakura rolled her eyes. She couldn't possibly get that after seeing him for five minutes.

"I am!" She exclaimed, "I saw the way he looked at you. And he gave us free drinks."

"He gave us free drinks because I'm friends with his roommate," Sakura countered, "You're drunk, Ino."

"That may be true, but it only heightens my intuition." Her friend threw back the rest of her drink and slammed her glass on a near by table, the occupants glared at her but she payed them no mind. "Now, lets dance."

Ino guided Sakura to the dance floor, artfully corralling her until she was in perfect view for Kisame. Sakura was completely aware that her friend was purposely forcing her to show off, but let her. Kisame was probably too busy serving the never ending line of customers to notice her anyways. To her surprise, when she did look up, his attention was undoubtedly in her direction. Their eyes met through the fleshy mass of drunk, sweaty twenty-somethings and she couldn't help but smile.

Ino and Sakura escaped, red faced and gasping, from the throng of dancers once they needed a break, only to resurface at the bar. She had lost all concept of time, but felt like it must have been getting close to one in the morning. Ino made no sign of slowing down and ordered another two drinks, this time from Hidan. Kisame had disappeared, perhaps on a break now that the bar had quieted down a bit.

"Oi, I know you, Kisame's party," Hidan shouted once he placed her face, giving her a flirty smile which she might have fallen for if she didn't know him. "No shots tonight?"

"Not if I can help it," she shouted back. She was making good on her promise to herself so far.

"You sure? You know I make a mean Porn Star." Sakura laughed, shaking her head no and he relented. His attention focused in on Ino next, who smiled back receptively. "Who's your friend?"

"Ino, but she's taken."

Hidan bit his lip, looking Ino over in a way that could only be described as 'undressing her with his eyes,' and dragged his gaze back up. Ino grinned, enjoying the attention, however futile. "Pity." She had to pry a giggling Ino away from the counter. Hidan shrugged and found a new woman to hit on who he might actually have a chance with. When they were a safe distance away, Sakura thrust her drink into Ino's hand.

"Hold this, I have to pee." Sakura followed the signage that directed her to a narrow set of stairs that brought her to the hall leading to the women's bathroom. The hall way was dimly lit and quiet enough that Sakura could hear the dull ringing in her ears that she was sure would be there the next day. The bathroom itself was clean, in some sense of the word, looking like it could use a bit of extra effort but it wasn't the worst bathroom she had ever been in. There were a few tampon wrappers littering the floor and even an empty bottle of peach schnapps tucked away in the corner, but there weren't any used condoms so that was a plus.

She exited the stall and washed her hands. Sakura observed herself critically in the mirror, deciding her makeup was fine, but dusted a bit of matte powder over her forehead and nose for good measure. She didn't bother reapplying lip gloss as it would be wiped away in no time. She smoothed her hands down the front of her dress and adjusted the hem line so it lied flat, and decided her primping was complete.

Sakura's foot caught on the raised threshold of the door when she attempted to leave the room and she plummeted forward. She caught herself, bracing her fall on an out stretched hand, feeling the sharp pain on her palm. "Ouch," she mumbled, still sitting on the dirty ground and inspected her hand. Blood spilled out of a substantial cut she assumed was caused by landing directly on the edge of a broken tile. Sakura looked around, happy that no one saw her fall and stood up as gracefully as she could In high heels and a tight dress. She returned to her friends side after washing her hand again, holding a paper towel over her injury. Ino eyed her with concern.

"What happened?" she questioned over the thumping music, brow furrowed.

"I fell and cut my hand." Sakura peaked under the paper towel and grimaced. "Maybe we should go." She jumped when a hand fell on her shoulder. She turned, ready to tell this guy to buzz off, but stopped when she saw it was Kisame who had returned from his break.

"Come with me," he said and lead her toward the wide staircase leading to the upper level, motioning to Ino to follow. She scurried after them, abandoning the half finished drinks on a near by table. They passed the deluxe booths and entered a small office through a discreet door marked 'employee only.' The lights were bright, and the music from down stairs was dampened by the walls, the thumping bass line still evident through subtle vibrations in the floor. Kisame pulled around two chairs for Sakura and Ino to sit in and rummaged through a cabinet until he found the box containing the first aid supplies. "What happened?" he asked, kneeling on one knee in front of her to gently inspect the wound.

"I fell," she explained for the second time. His hands were rough and warm in contrast with her soft, clammy ones. "There was a broken tile on the floor and I cut my hand."

"It doesn't look like it'll need stitches," he concluded and sprayed it with antiseptic spray. Sakura winced. "How much have you had to drink?"

"Maybe three drinks within the last two hours? I'm not drunk." she assured him.

"Sorry, I have to file an accident report so I have to ask." He applied a bandage. He retrieved a form from a filing cabinet and rattled off a few more questions about what happened and took down her name and address. "Just don't sue us, okay?"

Sakura exaggerated a sigh. "Okay. _Fine,_" she said sarcastically. He chuckled and packed away the first aid kit. "Thanks for the help."

"My pleasure. Do you want me to call you two a taxi?"

"Ino?" She asked, the blonde who currently had her head buried in her arms leaning on a desk made a noise of agreement. Apparently the alcohol had caught up with her. "A taxi would be great."

Less than five minutes later, Sakura was helping Ino into the back of a car after they had retrieved their coats. Kisame stood in the cold, waiting until they were both safely on their way home. "Thanks again," Sakura yawned and slid in beside Ino. She waved out the door with her bandaged hand, watching him stand there as they drove away. He didn't turn to go inside until they were all the way down the street.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Thank you for all of the lovely reviews! Nothing makes me happier than hearing what you think about my story!

*a slight caution: there is swearing in this chapter

* * *

Sakura bumped into Kisame in the stairwell one morning as she was heaving laundry down to the basement to start the lengthily process of washing the mountain of dirty clothes that had piled up during the week. He, too, had been doing laundry, hefting his own neatly folded and freshly washed load in a flimsy plastic basket back upstairs. She was just happy there was no alcohol involved this time; Sakura had been stealthily avoiding him after her ordeal at his place of work. She was starting to worry that he thought she was some out of control party girl who couldn't take care of herself. That wasn't the precence she wanted to exude.

"How's the hand?" Kisame asked.

"Much better," she answered, putting down her basket and flexing the injured hand subconsciously. It had been less than a week since she hurt herself but it was already scabbed over and well on its way to recovery. The worst part was the itchiness.

"Good," he smiled. He really was a handsome man. Maybe not in a classic sense, like Hidan or Itachi, but he had such a unique look he was unmistakably alluring. And, now that she got to know him, she didn't even notice the tattoos on his face, it was just a part of him.

"Oh, right!" Kisame exclaimed, jolting Sakura out of her musings, "Itachi was wondering if you could keep Kuro in your apartment for a day or two. Our shower is busted and the landlord is coming to take a look at it so we can't let him see him." He readjusted his basket so it rested on one hip, tattoos straining over his biceps as he altered his position and if she looked closely, she could see the shadows of the ballbearings of his nipple piercings through his tight athletic shirt. But she wasn't looking. "He'd ask someone else to take care of him but you're the only one he likes."

"Sure," Sakura jumped at the chance to have Kuro back in her apartment. She had only had him there for 15 minutes, tops, but it was nice to have a little furry friend to cuddle with on her couch. "When should I pick him up?"

"The sooner, the better. Landlord said he'd be there by 4," he said with an apologetic look on his face, "Sorry it's so short notice."

"I just have to throw this in the wash," she gestured to her clothes, "and I'll be right over."

"Great. I'll tell Itachi so he can stop freaking out," Kisame chuckled, "he was sure he was going to have to give up that stupid cat..." Kisame trailed off, continuing up the stairs.

She rushed down to the basement and threw her clothes into an available machine. She poured in the required amount of laundry soap and slotted in the coins, the washing machine sprung to life. She knew it was going to take at least half an hour before the load was done and it appeared as if she was the only one using the laundry room, so she wasn't worried about leaving it for a bit. She didn't think she'd be in too much danger of anyone tampering with her clothes.

Itachi cautiously opened the door when she knocked, obviously suspicious that the landlord decided to show up hours early.

"Don't worry; it's just me."

"Sakura," Itachi sighed in relief and opened the door wide enough that she could step in. He massaged his temples and she could just feel the stress rolling off him in waves; it looked like he had had a pretty bad day so far. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a few wet towels on the floor of the bathroom soaking up whatever mess the shower had made. "I can't thank you enough. He should be in Kisame's bedroom." She was embarrassingly familiar with that room and it pained her to think about that morning, but she pushed that memory to the back of her mind as she went to go search for the cat. It didn't take very long for Kuro to appear from under Kisame's large bed.

"Come here, kitty," she called from the door. She didn't want to poke around in his room uninvited if she could help it, although Kisame didn't seem too preoccupied with personal space. The black cat ran to her eagerly and let her pick him up without fuss. "Good, kitty," Sakura cooed and scratched under his chin. She returned to the living room where Itachi was waiting with a box of supplies. He opened the door, peaking out to make sure the coast was clear, and they both made a break for Sakura's apartment before someone saw.

Once they were inside, Itachi deposited the box on Sakura's coffee table and gave the cat a pitiful look. She set the cat down on her couch, and he quickly made himself at home. She had yet to see Itachi successfully pet Kuro and she thought that was pretty sad. It was so sweet how he doted on his pet, even if his feelings were unrequited; it was too bad Kuro didn't even give him a chance. Alas, he just didn't like Itachi.

"I'll let you get back to your laundry," Itachi said, edging towards the door, reluctant to leave. He paused with his hand on the doorknob. "Everything you need is in that box. Don't hesitate to call if you have any questions." Sakura thought for a second, and pulled out her cellphone.

"I don't think I have your number, Itachi," she said as she scrolled through her list. 'Nope, not there.' She made a new contact in her phone and typed in his name."Here," she offered, handing it to him so he could enter his phone number.

"I'll put Kisame's in as well," Itachi said as he typed in the other number, "Just in case." He handed her back her phone and he seemed a little bit less tense. She'd hate to see what would happen if he had a child, now wondering if he was going to call every few hours to check up on his baby. She was pretty sure it wasn't going to be too hard to take care of Kuro.

"Don't worry, Itachi, I'll take good care of him," she promised.

She conquered the considerable task of washing, folding and storing her clothes by midday. Itachi had held off calling or popping by since dropping Kuro off so Sakura took that as a good sign. It seemed as if he was taking the small separation well. Kuro, of course, didn't seem to mind at all.

Sakura plopped down on the couch beside the snoozing cat, pleased that she had at least done some of her chores before work. She had another late shift to look forward to that night and she wouldn't be getting home until early the next morning. She had been working at the hospital long enough that she wasn't assigned the overnight shifts anymore, but she had taken pity on one of her coworkers when they had asked if she could cover for them. She was a sucker for puppy dog eyes.

She spent the next few hours aimlessly catching up on some TV she had missed, read a few emails, and researched a few new recipes that she wanted to try. Pretty soon it was time to don her pale blue scrubs and run out the door to catch her bus to the hospital. She zipped up her winter coat and stuffed her extra warm gloves and hat into her bag for later when she had to brave the cold at three in the morning. Once Sakura was sure Kuro had water, food, and his litter box was set up in an obvious place he was sure to find, she locked the door and hurried down the steps to the lobby.

It was bitterly cold that day; Sakura's breaths came out in white clouds and she could feel the frost building on her eyelashes. She could only hope the bus would arrive on time and that they plowed the sidewalk to the bus stop. The snow crunched under her boots as she walked across the mostly empty parking lot.

She almost jumped out of her skin when the large black van to her immediate left started honking as she passed by it. To her surprise, Hidan was the asshole sitting in the drivers seat and Sakura had to resist the urge to flip him off as he rolled down the window, laughing hysterically. "That was too fucking funny," he barked, hitting the steering wheel. She was planning on ignoring him and continuing on her way, when he finally got a grip and fixed her with his usually smarmy smile. "Want a ride, babe?"

"Don't call me 'babe,'" Sakura shot back quickly. If she wasted too much time here she would miss her bus for sure. "You don't even know where I'm going."

"Well fuckin' _excuse_ me for trying to be _nice_. Seriously." Hidan said, theatrically throwing his hands in the air in defeat, but he didn't really look like he was too offended. "Aren't you going to work or some shit? Or do you just wear fucking scrubs everywhere?" he asked leaning out the window, giving her a quick once over. "Hospital's a, what?, less than ten minute drive from here? I don't mind, seriously."

Sakura considered it. Wait in the cold and bus for half an hour or get a ride and be stuck in Hidan's car for ten minutes? A ride sounded pretty good right now, she could already feel her toes freezing. "Why are you here in the first place, anyway?" she probed a bit further. It seemed strange that he was just waiting by himself in the parking lot.

"Fucking suspicious, aren't we?" Hidan teased, but didn't leave her hanging for too long, "I'm waiting for Kisame to come down and give me my shit back. If I have one piece of advice for you: don't lend that asshole anything because he will keep it forever. He should be down, like, any minute now. Hop in, it's fucking freezing." She heard the passenger door unlock. She stopped trying to fight it and hurried around the front of the van; any chance to avoid taking the bus was worth it. Even if it was Hidan.

Just as he said, Kisame was walking out the lobby doors two minutes later. He gave Sakura a strange look as he peered into the driver side, passing a stack of DVDs to Hidan who threw them into the back of the van carelessly. They ricochet off the seat and landed somewhere on the floor.

"Where are you two off to?" Kisame asked, still giving Sakura a look of concern. Should she be worried?

"He's driving me to work," she answered.

"Fucking right, I am," Hidan chimed in, apparently very impressed with his own gallantry. "Now, get out of my way, Fishsticks." Kisame had to jump swiftly away from the van as Hidan peeled out of the parking space, wheels sliding over the snow alarmingly as he blasted out of the parking lot. He also took the opportunity to fiddle with the stereo, blaring death metal loud enough that she couldn't head the tires squealing. Sakura gripped her seat tightly and suddenly Kisame's concern made a whole lot of sense.

At least they were heading _towards_ the hospital. The thought did little to comfort her.

"Do you think you could slow down a bit?" Sakura shouted over the music, eyes glued to the road as he sped through a stop sign. He grumbled darkly under his breath but she could feel the car drop to a more legal speed, but just barely. He didn't seem to understand the basic rules of the road and spent a lot of time shouting obscenities at passing cars which he deemed bad drivers. The absurdity of his accusations would have made her laugh if she wasn't busy being terrified.

Hidan slid into a parking space between two cars effortlessly, and Sakura wondered if it was skill or luck; either way, she didn't want to think about it. Her hand paused on the door handle.

"This isn't the hospital," she said, looking at the building in front of her and realized they had arrived way too quickly to be at their final destination. "In fact, this is the opposite of a hospital. Why are we parked at a funeral home?"


	7. Chapter 7

Sakura looked at Hidan in confusion and then back at the unassuming building in front of her. It was surrounded by a few tall, skeletal trees and a line of neatly kept coniferous shrubs by the tall front door. The only reason she knew it was a funeral home was because of the snow-dusted sign posted off to one side which read 'Taki Funeral Home' in big black block script, otherwise it just looked like a large house. She imagined it looked more friendly in the summer but the bare trees only made it look haunting in the stark whiteness of the snow. Hidan turned the stereo down until his music was just a low rumble, seeming too preoccupied with watching the building to answer her question fully.

"Just have to make a pit stop," he sort of answered, leaning forwards to get a better look at the front door of the mortuary.

"At a funeral home?" Sakura repeated in a deadpan. His reply had not made the situation any clearer and she couldn't fathom what kind of pit stop he would need to make here. It wasn't like she was in a hurry now, they had plenty of time to get to the hospital. It was just so _weird_.

"We're picking that fucking bastard up," he growled, getting impatient. His hand was hovering over the horn, itching to press it. Sakura was just happy that he was showing a bit of restraint so far. What if there was a funeral going on in there? Also, who was the 'fucking bastard' as he put it? She was going to ask but stopped herself. 'It'll be a surprise,' she thought, and just hoped that this person was among the living.

Much to her relief, Kakuzu appeared from inside the building carrying a briefcase a few seconds later. He paused to lock the front door and then approached the car. "Finally!" Hidan exclaimed and rolled down his window, leaning out to shout at the other man. "Fucking hurry it up!"

Kakuzu made no effort to hurry down the icy walkway, taking his time. He was once again wearing an impeccable blacksuit, a thick overcoat and expensive looking leather shoes that seemed impractical for the weather. She couldn't deny he had good taste. He glared at Sakura as he passed the passengers side window, probably thinking he should be in the front seat, but said nothing as he got into the middle row of the van. He was barely buckled in when Hidan started driving again.

"About fuckin' time!" Hidan muttered darkly as he recklessly reversed out of the space and got back on the road toward the hospital. Sakura clung to her seat.

"Hi, Kakuzu," Sakura greeted pleasantly, turning to face him and trying to keep her mind off of the maniac driving the car beside her, "We met at Kisame's-"

"Yes, Kisame's party," he interrupted and fixed her with his green eyes. It was still going to take some time before she got used to the bizarre colouring. "Why are you here?" He was blunt, just as she remembered him from the party.

"I'm driving her to work; stop bing such a cunt, Kakuzu," Hidan answered for her again, still proud of his good deed of the day, "She's going to the same place so I thought I'd give her a lift. Like, carpooling or whatever, I thought you loved that shit?"

Kakuzu only grumbled in response.

"You're going to the hospital too?" Sakura asked, looking back at Hidan just as he made a sharp and terrifying left turn. Her stomach dropped and she held in a shriek. She was surprised they made it across the flow of traffic in one piece. She still couldn't decide if Hidan was a really bad driver or a really good one. They hadn't crashed yet, but he also didn't seem to have any regard for safety.

"Old 'Kuzu here has a meeting with a soon to be grieving family," Hidan said with far too much glee to be socially acceptable, and she hoped that the excited light in his eye was due to his daredevil driving. Sakura was too concerned about the yellow light they just zipped through at the last minute before it turned red to hear Kakuzu grumble about the nickname.

"So you're a funeral director, Kakuzu?" Sakura guessed and turned to look at the man in the backseat again, blocking out the sound of the angry honking coming from the car they just cut off. It would make sense, considering they just picked him up from a funeral home, but she couldn't imagine him being very comforting to mourners. 'If he owns his own parlor, he must be doing something right,' she thought. And, judging by his posh wardrobe, he was pretty well off too.

"I prefer 'mortician,'" Kakuzu answered haughtily, now focused on arranging some paperwork in his briefcase. He didn't seem at all bothered by Hidan's driving.

"That must be very interesting work," Sakura searched for something to say. She didn't know anything about morticians and Kakuzu didn't seem like he wanted to chat but she was stuck in this car until they got to the hospital and she didn't want to think about the traffic violations Hidan was committing. "How did you get in to it?"

His eyes darted up to hers and back down to his paperwork, "Family business," he said in a clipped tone, and expanded no further.

Sakura gave up her futile attempt at a conversation and returned her attention to front of the car. Hidan was still blasting along and they quickly reached their destination with plenty of time to spare. Hidan smoothly glided down the ramp into the underground parking garage and it took a few terrifying minutes of circling down further and further in the complex before they found a spot. Hidan had no concept of limiting his speed, even in these cramped surroundings. He slid easily into the first avaliable space. Even with the detour, they had reached the hospital much faster than it would have taken her to bus there, and for that she was grateful. Nevertheless, as soon as they were parked, Sakura scrambled to get out of the vehicle before Hidan decided to go on another joy ride with her still in it. She would think twice about any offer of a ride in the future.

"Thanks for the drive," She said politely as she shut the car door; just because it was terrifying didn't mean she was going to forget her manners. She checked she had all of her possession before hastily making her way toward the stairwell; Sakura didn't want to get stuck taking the elevator with Kakuzu and she could see he was still sitting in the van.

"Any time, babe!" Hidan called after her. She rolled her eyes as she pushed open the heavy door and started climbing the stairs.

Sakura's shift was long, but nobody barfed on her so she couldn't complain too much. She sighed as she finished washing her hands for the final time that night and applied some much needed hand lotion to her dried out skin. Her hands were dry enough in the winter anyway and with all this extra hand washing... Well, it wasn't pretty.

She made herself a hot cup of tea in her travel mug and prepared herself for the cold that awaited her outside. It was times like these that made her wish she had a car; even a ride home from Hidan sounded pretty nice right about now. She tugged her toque further over her ears as she walked quickly to the bus shelter and waited for six minutes for the next bus to show up. She kept warm by pacing back and forth inside the shelter, keeping her hands wrapped tightly around her travel mug. When Sakura stepped onto the bus she felt instantly relieved by the heat and sat far away enough from the doors so she wouldn't have to feel too much of a chill when they opened again for other passengers. There weren't many people out and about at this time in the morning so the bus ride went quickly with minimal stops.

It was 3:59 AM by the time she was back at the apartment building. The sky was clear and full of stars and the only noise was the crunch of snow under her boots. There were no signs of life besides her walking around so early in the morning and that was the way she liked it. There was something eery and magical about that time of the morning, when she could pretend she was the only one left in the whole world.

She was half way up the second flight of stairs when she remembered she had neglected to get her mail for the past few days and had to trudge back down to the lobby to get it.

'Junk mail, junk mail, bill... Junk mail...' She never got anything exciting.

The creak of the lobby door opening behind her was deftening in the quiet. Kisame stumbled in, thick scarf wrapped around his neck and a fine dusting of snow atop his woolen hat. His cheeks were flushed lilac from the cold, colour dusting over top the gill-like tattoos.

"Morning," she greeted quietly; he was evidently also getting home from his late shift. He yawned and acknowledged her with a nod. "How was work?"

"Long," he answered and yawned again, "What about you?"

"Hectic, as usual, but I somehow avoided getting puke on my shoes so it wasn't all bad," Sakura shrugged, now stifling a yawn herself. They both headed towards the stairs to make the trek to the fourth floor. The steps seemed endless at this hour but the quiet conversation helped make it bearable. "Any word on the shower?"

"It won't be fixed for three days."

"Huh," she replied, rubbing her eye. The higher they climbed the more tired she realized she was. "Shitty."

"Tell me about it," he rolled his eyes, "It's about time we got it fixed. I kept telling the landlord that he needed to do something about it but he always had some excuse. Apparently it had to completely break before it was worth taking a look at." She nodded in solidarity. The landlord was not quick to help with any minor repairs and often took weeks to convince there was even an issue. They continued up the next flight in silence until Sakura remembered she had a bone to pick with him.

"I wish you would have told me Hidan was insane," Sakura accused with a frown. Kisame stifled a laugh, trying to keep it down as they passed the second floor. "It's not funny! I could have died!"

"Hidan has never been in a _serious_ accident," he assured her, still snickering, and put a heavy emphasis on 'serious'. That was not as comforting as he might think it sounded. He wasn't being very sympathetic.

"It's like he had no sense of self preservation..." Sakura continued, still in awe of Hidan's driving and wondered how he was still allowed in the drivers seat.

"He's not _that_ bad," Kisame maintained.

"Really? I don't think he stopped at one stop sign," Sakura shook her head, "and I honestly don't think he knows theres a speed limit."

The conversation trailed off as they finally reached the top floor and grumbled their farewells, all power zapped from them now that they were so close to their beds. Sakura's feet felt like blocks of cement as she dragged herself through her door, Kuro snaking around her ankles in greeting only making it that much harder to walk. She only had energy left to brush her teeth and struggle on a pair of pajamas before snuggling into bed with Kuro curled up beside her.

Before she fell completely unconscious she plugged her cellphone into the wall to charge. Hesitantly, she swiped open her phone and opened a new chat. She typed and retyped the message, unsure if she should really send it. She had been toying with the idea all day... It was the neighborly thing to do, right? She hit send, hoping that it didn't wake Kisame up if he was already asleep.

'Hey, it's Sakura. You and Itachi are welcome to use my shower until yours is fixed.'

She dozed off not long after sending it, not seeing her phone light up in response a few moments later.

* * *

AN: I just want to say that none of you had any faith in Hidan! He may be insane, obnoxious and a horribly unsafe driver, but he (probably) isn't a murderer! Well... we'll see.

I am trying my hardest to fit in more KisaSaku moments because I've realized this is going at a glacial speed, but some things you just can't force. I swear I'll get things rolling in the next chapter or two.

Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

AN: I had a really hard time writing this chapter so hopefully you guys still like it! It even ended up being longer than normal because I couldn't find a good place to cut it off.

**a slight warning: there is mention of a car accident near the end (I don't want to give too much away but it's not in detail) so if you find that triggering this chapter may not be for you!**

* * *

Sakura was awoken at 12:07 the next day when someone knocked on her door. It took her a few seconds to fully process what was happening, still groggy from going to bed so late. Once she snapped out of it she quickly jumped out of her cozy bed, pulling on a sweater and combing her fingers through her hair to flatten it the best she could into some semblance of order. She shut her bedroom door behind her, closing Kuro in, in case it was the landlord come to bother her. She yawned as she opened the door, and glared with lidded eyes at the person who had disturbed her sleep.

"Did I wake you?" Itachi asked. He gave her a concerned look, eying her messy hair and general dazed appearance.

"Yeah," Sakura grumble, still not looking too happy. "It was probably about time I got up though. Are you here for Kuro?"

"Not quite... Kisame said we could use your shower...?" It sounded more like a question than a statement. She had completely forgotten she had sent that text before falling asleep, but she should have guessed that's why he was here. Now that Sakura took a closer look at him, she could tell his hair had seen better days and he was carrying a small bag of toiletries.

"Of course," she said, standing aside to let him through, "come on in. Bathroom is right over there." She pointed him towards the door to her right. Sakura's apartment was much smaller than his, being only a one bedroom compared to his two, but they were basically the same layout. He thanked her and quickly retreated into the bathroom. She heard the shower turn on as she returned to her bedroom to let Kuro out who was scratching impatiently at the door. Sakura didn't bother changing out of her pajamas, grabbed her phone and brought it with her to the tiny kitchen so she could make herself some lunch.

First things first, she checked her phone. She had a few new emails and two text messages. One was from Kisame, time stamped a few minutes after she sent hers before falling asleep.

'Thanks,' it read, 'I'll tell Itachi when I see him.'

That felt... Disappointing. She wasn't sure why. Was she expecting him to be so grateful that he would ask her out or something? 'Do I even want that?' she wondered. Ever since she talked to Ino about him she second guess all of her actions, but she had yet to sit down and really think about what she wanted. Sure, he was nice and attractive and conveniently located but... 'No,' she shook her head, 'I'll figure it out later.'

Her next message was from Ino, of course, and was sent that morning, probably before she went to work at the florists. 'Any news? Don't tell me you're still avoiding him! Go get 'em, forehead!' Sakura rolled her eyes and put her phone on the counter out of her way. She'd answer that later.

She opened her fridge and sighed. She really needed to go grocery shopping. It was just so hard to find the time with her busy, and generally odd hour, schedule. There was also something about lugging grocery bags on the bus in the winter that she found extremely inconvenient.

Sakura settled on fried eggs on toast, her go-to quick meal. She got out the toaster and the other necessary equipment and cracked two eggs into the pan once it reached the correct temperature. The eggs sizzled as she threw two pieces of multi-grain bread in the the toaster. Itachi was still in the shower by the time she was sitting down to eat at her small kitchen table.

Itachi emerged from the bathroom a while later, rosy cheeked and smelling suspiciously of mangoes, towel draped around his neck. He must have help himself to her expensive body wash, which was pretty bold of him, and she wondered vaguely if he had also used her shower sponge, but refused to let any images of Itachi lathering up in her shower from surfacing in her mind.

"You and Kisame should come over for dinner tomorrow," Sakura suggested, distracting herself from the idea of a soaking wet Itachi all covered in suds... 'Stop it!' She chided herself. She had been thinking of inviting them over for a while now. "I've been over to your place so often that it's about time I invite you two over here. How about it?"

This piqued Itachi's attention, instantly alert to the potential of a meal he didn't have to attempt. He probably didn't get a lot of home cooking, considering he could burn water. "I'd love to," he answered graciously, "I'll ask Kisame if he's free."

"Great!" Sakura smiled back, depositing her plate and utensils into the sink to wash later. Unfortunately she lacked a dishwasher, but she supposed that was one of the many reasons her rent was so cheap. "Do you know if he's planning on coming over to use the shower today too? Just so I know if I should expect him or not..." She turned to face him and leaned back against the counter.

"No, he said he'll be using the one at the gym," he replied offhandedly. He removed the damp towel and folded it neatly over his arm, a droplet of water rolled off a strand of his still damp fringe and onto the front of his shirt. Sakura caught herself before her face fell too noticeably. She still couldn't place this feeling of disappointment and it was starting to get on her nerves. Itachi didn't appear to notice, much to her relief. She didn't want anyone else to find out about her crush, if that's what it was, before she sorted out her feelings.

"I should be going now, I have to get ready for work." Itachi strode toward the door, turning back to her just before leaving and bowed his head slightly in gratitude. He had the most gorgeous smile on his face and she feel herself melt just a little bit. "I am once again in your debt, Sakura. I don't know what I'd do without you."

As soon as the door clicked gently closed Sakura could feel a warm blush blossom over her cheeks and she grinned to herself. Why had she wasted so many years pining over Sasuke when his brother was so charming?

Sakura revived a text from Itachi in the late afternoon confirming he and Kisame were coming for dinner. This made her unreasonably happy until she realized she still had nothing in her fridge and she started to feel an overwhelming sense of panic. And what was she going to make? Would she even have time to go to the store between now and tomorrow afternoon? The invitation just sort of popped out of her mouth earlier without thinking.

She supposed she could go after work around four, and that would give her plenty of time to cook something. She just needed to figure out what she was going to serve... Sakura didn't want to go with something too ambitious but she didn't want it to be too simple either.

Sakura opened her laptop, searching through recipes she had bookmarked but still struggled to pick a dish. Why did she do this to herself? She didn't even know what the two men liked and she was starting to regret inviting them over, but it was too late for that now. The damage was done and they were coming over.

Finally, after agonizing over it for an hour, she decided on a baked chicken dish, green beans, and risotto. She could do that, right? She had never made risotto before but it didn't sound too difficult, a little bit time consuming but not impossible.

Kisame arrived promptly at 6:05 the next evening, a bottle of red wine in hand. Itachi was nowhere to be seen.

"I wasn't sure what we were having," he said as he walked into her apartment and handed over the dark bottle. Sakura was not knowledgeable about wine, but even she could tell this was a fine bottle of red. "I would have brought a white if I knew we were having chicken, but this Pinot Noir pairs well with almost anything."

"Thank you," Sakura said, a little bit shocked by his generosity. She hadn't been expecting a gift. Sakura put the wine on her small kitchen table and motioned for him to sit. "Dinner's almost ready. Do you know when Itachi's going to get here?" She returned to the stove to stir the pot of risotto. It was slightly more challenging than she anticipated and it was starting to turn into a gluey mess. She ladled in more stock in an attempt to dilute it and tasted it again. The grains of rice were still too crunchy on the inside while the outside was growing mushier by the minute; she must have done something wrong... At least it still tasted alright, if you ignored the texture.

"About that..." Kisame started, scratching Kuro under the chin when he hopped up onto his lap to greet him, "He's stuck at work. One of the new interns lost some important client file so he has to stay to sort that out. I'm afraid it's just you and me tonight."

'Oh,' Sakura thought, still stirring her failing risotto and suddenly felt very self conscious. She knew that if Ino were here she would say this now constituted as a date. She grimaced down at the pot; no, they were just two friends sharing a meal with a really nice bottle of wine. "That's too bad, maybe he can make it next time."

"Yeah, he was really excited to eat a meal he didn't have to cook," Kisame chuckled. "It smells delicious, by the way. Need any help?"

"I think I've got it covered," Sakura said as she took the chicken out of the oven to check if it was done. "You can pour the wine, if you want. Glasses are in the cupboard over the sink."

Soon they were seated across from each other at her small table. He seemed huge in her small kitchen. Sakura did her best to ignore the intimate and date-like atmosphere that seemed suddenly inescapable. She wondered if he noticed too, or if this was a one sided anxiety. He didn't appear to be uncomfortable as he shoveled in a mouthful of chicken and green beans. She felt compelled to carry on a conversation but suddenly had nothing to say.

She took a sip of wine as she contemplated something, _anything_, to talk about. 'This is really good,' she thought, and took a second sip. Normally, she found red wine to be good but not something she would go out of her way to buy, but this one was delicious.

"This is very good wine," Sakura commented. He was right, it paired well with the food.

"It's one of my favorites," he said and swirled his glass gently, smelling it before taking a sip. It dawned on her that this was probably the sort of thing he had picked up working in a bar.

"Do you learn a lot about wine?" She asked. "As a bartender, I mean?"

"Yes and no," Kisame took another sip, "I actually started training as a Sommelier before going into bartending, but the atmosphere didn't seem right and I didn't really fit in." He trailed off and went right back to eating.

They lapsed into silence again, much to Sakura's frustration. They must have _something_ to talk about...

"So, how did you meet Itachi?" Good, that was something. Sakura had been wondering how they knew each other since she met him a few weeks ago. Itachi and Kisame seemed so... different. Itachi was reserved, studious, the type to go to bed early and smile politely at strangers while Kisame was large, intimidation, and someone she might have crossed the street to avoid if she didn't know him. Kisame hesitated for a moment before answering.

"It's a funny story actually. We were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend a few years ago."

Sakura's head jerked up to stare at him. Did she hear that right?

"My friend, Konan, happened to meet him while he was studying law in University and somehow thought we'd be perfect for each other," he continued and rolled his eyes, either unaware or ignoring Sakura's shocked expression. "It didn't work out but we've been friends ever since. How did you meet him again?"

Now she was really at a loss for words. That scenario has never crossed her mind and her heart fell. At least this made up her mind if she was going to peruse him or not. It also made it clear that she _was_ interested in him. 'Oh, well...' she thought mournfully and then realized he had asked her a question.

"I-I met him when I moved in last year when Sasuke came to visit. He didn't exactly tell me he was in town, like usual, so it was a bit strange to see him wandering down the hall to another apartment." Sakura tried to remain calm and collected, concealing her dejection the best she could. It wasn't like he _actually_ rejected her because she never made a move on him, but it still hurt the same knowing she didn't have a chance. "I didn't even know he had a brother until then; he never talked about him before, but I guess they had a bit of a falling out after the accident..." Kisame nodded, obviously knowing what she was referring to.

Sakura didn't know the exact details, probably because Sasuke wasn't one to share his deep, dark secrets, but she was able to piece together some of what happened. After Sasuke's parents died in a fatal car accident he was put into foster care and was then transferred to her high school when she met him. He spent most of those years angry and guarded but somehow she managed to make friends with him through sheer willpower and unrequited love. He didn't tell her more than the bare minimum about what happened. That was all she knew for years until later when she found out he had a brother and learned from gossip and a bit of snooping that Itachi could have taken care of him but refused which was why he ended up in the system. They apparently didn't start speaking until just two years ago, and they had now mostly mended their relationship.

She couldn't blame Itachi for not wanting to raise his brother at 18; they had both lost their parents, after all. She could also understand Sasuke's feeling of abandonment when his only brother declined to look after him. She was just happy they were able reconciled after such a tragedy.

They continued talked into the evening, although Sakura couldn't help but feel let down. Once Kisame had left for the night Sakura spent some time moping around listening to sad music and even broke out her emergency ice cream to sooth her heart.

Of course, the only man she had developed feelings for in the last three years was gay. Just her luck.

* * *

AN: Well, I bet you didn't see that coming! Just a mini scoop if ItaKisa because I like that, **BUT:** don't worry! This is _not_ the last chapter and this is _not_ the end! KisaSaku is still the endgame here.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey guys, sorry this took so long! Without further a due: chapter nine!

* * *

"So, he's gay?" Ino shrieked over the phone after Sakura finished explaining the new situation. She had broken down and called her the next day after work. She had spent the whole day wallowing in self pity and needed to vent so she could at least attempt to move on.

"That's basically what he said," Sakura sighed, eating another scoop of ice cream; she was scraping the bottom now.

"But I'm never wrong!" Ino shouted back, refusing to believe that she had miss read the signals. "And you're sure?"

"I really don't think he could have made it any clearer," she responded. She let out a frustrated groan. "Why? Why does the first guy I like in ages turn out to not even like women?" She'd still be happy to be his friend, after all he was a pretty cool guy, but it was going to be hard to get rid of these feelings now that they were fully realized.

"It happens to the best of us," Ino responded sagely. In classic Ino fashion, she tried to cheer her up by pointing out her other options. "What about that cute blond guy? Dei-something? OH! Or Hidan!"

"No," Sakura said firmly, but couldn't keep a smile off her face. She was glad she called her; this was just what she needed. "Need I remind you about Hidan's reckless driving? I'm pretty sure he has a death wish."

"But he's so cute," Ino whined and she was sure she was pouting on the other side of the phone, "You'll be fine as long as you never get in his car again. I can't have him, but you can! Let me live vicariously through you!"

"Not a chance," Sakura laughed, "Thanks Ino, this helped a lot. I have to go; talk to you later?"

"No problem, forehead. Don't forget: there are plenty more fish in the sea!"

She pressed the 'call end' button and sighed, leaning back into the couch and Kuro purred happily on her lap. She didn't want to think about it but Itachi was probably going to come get him soon as their shower was fixed. She had grown accustomed to having a cat roaming around and keeping her company after a long day at work, it was going to be hard to let him go.

She moved Kuro off of her lap and got up. There were still a few dishes she hadn't washed yet from the previous day and she knew that if she didn't clean them now it would bother her later. Sakura filled the sink with hot water and soap and scrubbed furiously. She tried to focus at the task at hand but her thoughts relentlessly drifted back to the tall, handsome man who she now knew she had no chance with, only making her scrub harder.

She was almost done when her phone sounded, indicating an incoming text. Sakura finished drying the plate in her hands, returned it to its proper place and whipped her hands off on the drying cloth. It was from Itachi and, as she read it, she was filled with dread and confusion.

'We need to talk,' Itachi wrote, 'Can you come over?'

Her brows furrowed as she tried to fathom what he needed to talk to her about and why it sounded so serious. It was easy to misinterpret tone over text, right? Still, nothing good had ever come from 'we need to talk.' Why did he need to talk to her; had she done something?

'Right now?' she typed back. She gulped and hit send. He responded almost immediately.

'Yes.' Sakura frowned and the grooved between her eyebrows depended.

'I'll be there in five.'

Whatever it was, it would be better to get it over with. Before she left she let the soapy water drain from the sink and grabbed her keys. She fiddled with her hair in the hall mirror, stalling the inevitable. What did he want?

She was in front of his door sooner than she wanted and hesitantly knocked. Sakura heard a muffled 'come in' from inside. She tested the doorknob; it was unlocked. Itachi was sitting on the couch alone, waiting for her. It didn't appear like anyone else was home. He looked solumn and serious which did nothing to reassure her. She took in a shaky breath and took a seat across from him in the armchair.

Itachi observed her from behind his thick glasses and finally broke the silence.

"Coffee?" he asked, diffusing some of the tension, still being a good host despite the grave atmosphere he was projecting. Sakura shook her head no and cut right to the chase.

"Is there something wrong, Itachi?" Her voice almost quivered and she waited anxiously for his answer. He looked her straight in the eye with his piercing black stare.

"What are your intentions with my roommate?" He asked evenly, sounding very much the part of an overprotective father. Sakura blinked owlishly at him. She... didn't see that one coming.

"C-come again?" she stuttered, feeling her face heat up. How did he find out about her feelings for Kisame? The only person she told about her failed crush was Ino and there was no way he had talked to her. She wished she had asked for that coffee now so she had something to do with her hands; instead she picked at the hem of her shirt nervously. Was this him telling her to back off? Maybe there was still something going on between them.

"What are your intentions with Kisame?" he repeated and waited for her answer.

"Well, I... Umm..." Sakura was at a loss for words. "I don't really know." Honesty is the best policy, right? The whole situation was feeling pretty surreal and the words just started pouring out. "I don't really know what_ his_ intentions are, actually. I thought he might be interested in me, but he said that you two..." She trailed off, blush intensifying. "Are you still...?"

"Ah," Itachi nodded in understanding and his face lost some of the hard edge, "He told you how we met. Sakura, just because he dates men doesn't mean he is gay."

"Oh." She hadn't considered that. "_Oh_," she said as the idea clicked. "That's good to know." She wasn't sure what else she should say. It was good; she still had a chance. "So he's... Bisexual?" Sakura ventured. She felt so awkward talking about this with Itachi. She had never spent a great deal of time thinking about the vast spectrum of possibilities because she had always been sure she was straight so no wonder that this slipped her mind.

"More or less," he shrugged, "I've noticed the way you look at him, just know that he would be receptive to you if you were to suggest it. He speaks very highly of you."

"Really?" Sakura asked. Knowing that he talked about her when she wasn't there was a surprise, and certainly a good one. Itachi nodded.

"But, if you're trying to court him, you're going to have to be more obvious," Itachi continued, "Kisame is, how can I put this," he searched for the correct words for a moment, "self-concious about the way he looks. He may seem confident, but he is actually full of self doubt and often overlooks any signs that someone is interested in him." Itachi rolled his eyes. "Anyway, please be gentle with him, I don't want to see him get hurt."

"And you're okay with it?" Sakura asked. As much as she liked Kisame, she had grown fond of her friendship with Itachi. It wouldn't be worth giving that up just for a potential relationship; it wasn't a sure thing after all. It was sweet that Itachi was so protective of him and she wanted to make sure he wasn't still in love with him or something. "If I ask him out, it's not going to be weird between us?"

"Sakura," he said with a smile, "you have my blessing."

She resolved that the next time she saw Kisame she would make her feelings known. It just so happened that Deidara was putting on an art show two days from then that Kisame was sure to attend, according to Itachi.

Sakura's taxi pulled up in front of the building where Deidara was holding his exhibition. It looked like a huge abandoned warehouse and nothing like the swanky artist gallery that she had been expecting.

"Are you sure this is the right place, miss?" the driver asked sceptically, looking over his shoulder at her in the back seat.

"Yes." She wasn't sure. It didn't look like anyone was there but she trusted Itachi and this was the address on the invitation. She payed her fare and walked briskly to the large front door, high heels clicking on the concrete walkway. She glanced back at the taxi when she didn't hear it pull away; he was idling by the curb still, obviously conflicted about leaving her alone in the dark in a deserted part of town. She could go back right now, it wasn't too late. No, she had come this far, she at least had to check inside.

She took a hold of the frosty metal door and heaved it open with some effort. Light flooded out of the opening and she gave a great sigh of relief; she could hear the dull hum of music and the chatter of voices. She waved to the taxi as he drove off.

Once she managed to close the heavy door again she followed the sound of people until she found herself in a huge room with a high ceiling reaching up at least two stories with heavy metal beams crisscrossing overhead. By the size of the space it seemed as if it was sparsely populated but there must have been at least a hundred artsy looking people milling around with drinks in their hands. Most of them seemed to be sticking close to the snack table in the center of the room, but some of them were wandering around looking at the various paintings that were set up along the walls arcing around in a large circle. In total, there was probably only about 12 paintings and sculptures; for an art show it seemed to be lacking in actual art to show. She suddenly felt highly overdressed in her little black dress and heels while mostly everyone else was in jeans.

It didn't take long before she spotted Deidara's blond head in the more dense part of the crowd. He was talking to an elegant woman with bright blue hair in a sweeping floor length gown with black lace covering from her wrists to the top of her slender neck. She looked like an avenging angel. At least she wasn't the only one who had dressed up. Sakura made her way across the floor.

"Sakura!" Deidara cheered as soon as he saw her, dragging her into a quick but tight embrace. She realized now that with her heels on they were the same height. He kept an arm around her shoulder as he introduced her. "Konan, this is Sakura. Sakura, Konan."

The blue haired woman was breathtaking now that she saw her close up; Sakura wouldn't be surprised if she were an actress or a model. Her face was angular and harsh, yet still strikingly feminine and her eyes were the brightest amber she had ever seen. And, under the lace she appeared to be as tattooed as Kisame. She tried to stop staring but she was hard to look away from.

"Nice to meet you," Sakura stuttered, trying to not be too intimidated. Konan smiled softly.

"It's nice to meet you too, Sakura," she returned in a husky voice. Deidara continued his previous conversation, chattering on excitedly about his exhibit and hinting that there was going to be a big finale.

"It's going to be my finest work yet," he assured them, blue eyes flashing with nervous energy.

Sakura had yet to spot Kisame and eventually excused herself from the conversation to search for him. He was the only reason she was there, after all. She took her time making a circuit of the floor, moving around the outside to also look at the paintings and sculptures while she as at it.

It didn't take too long to find another familiar face, although not the one she was looking for. Sasori was standing in front of a painting glaring at the canvas with a drink in his hand. He looked bored and hostile, but he had looked like that the last time she had seen him too so she thought maybe that was just how he always was. Maybe art just wasn't his thing?

"Enjoying the exhibit?" Sakura asked and stood beside him to look at the painting. It was on a long canvas, paint splattered all over the white surface in thick layers. It was too abstract for Sakura's taste but she was sure the more artistically inclined guests would beg to differ. Sasori scoffed.

"Hardly." He crossed his arms, still regarding the art work with disgust. "I only appreciate true art."

"Oh," Sakura was taken aback by his snobby tone. It wasn't that he didn't like art, he was just annoyingly particular. "I though people say that all art has its merit? Sort of 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' kind of thing." He turned his head to look at her, seeming completely offended by what she had just said. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Those people are wrong." He took a sip of his drink. Sakura could feel her eyebrow twitch as she bit back a retort. "You've never been to one of his shows, have you?" Sasori drawled, and she could only wonder what he meant by that because before she could question further he continued. "Look, the only reason I'm here is because Deidara begged me for a drive. Now, if you'll excuse me." The red haired man stalked off to a secluded sculpture, glaring at anyone who looked like they were going to stand beside him. Sakura thought it was best to leave him alone.

Still with no Kisame in sight, Sakura returned to Deidara's side after making a complete circle of the room. He was still talking to Konan and now another man had joined them, standing silently beside the blue haired woman. He was the same height as her dressed in a formal black suit with brilliant orange hair and more piercings than she could count. Deidara made no move to introduce him, too preoccupied with talking about his 'best piece yet' to notice she was back. That was fine with Sakura; the orange haired man seemed sort of frightening anyway. She just stood by and watched him as Deidara became excessively manic until he seemed like he might explode.

"It's time," Deidara bellowed suddenly, grabbing everyone's attention. They hushed and gathered in the middle of the room as he retrieved a cardboard box full of various items. He pulled out a baseball bat and Sakura glanced around at the other observers but no one looked surprised.

Deidara walked slowly up to the first painting and, without missing a beat, hit it with the bat. Again, no one seemed surprised. In fact, some began to cheer. This continued until it was in absolute ruin. He moved around the circle until every work of art was destroyed and the crowd grew rowdier the more he smashed.

Hair wild and covered in small bits of debris, he went back to his box. This time he pulled out a bottle of Butaine and a BBQ lighter and started pouring the flammable liquid over the ruins and the floor. Sakura did not understand. She felt a hand on her arm that pulled her toward the exit.

"We should step outside now," Konan said as everyone moved out the door. Deidara was still inside covering everything in the lighter fluid as they stood out in the cold a fair distance away. He came sprinting out a few minutes later and, just as he cleared the door, something inside the building exploded, throwing him to the ground laughing. Sakura watched in horror as the whole complex was consumed in flames.

Everyone really began to cheer as the fire grew, casting the snow and surroundings in an orange glow. Deidara took a low bow once he was on his feet again.

"Sakura?" A familiar voice asked, "I didn't think I'd see you here."

Finally, the one person she wanted to see that night had appeared. Kisame stood beside her now, the light from the flaming warehouse casting shadows on his face and in the distance she could here the wail of approaching sirens. "Where have you been? Itachi said you'd be here."

"I usually only show up for the best part," Kisame shrugged. She could hear the wailing getting closer. "Speaking of which, we should get out of here before the police get here." He grabbed her hand and they started running down the street in the opposite direction of the approaching emergency vehicles as the rest of the crowd dispersed as well.

"Police?" Sakura was hardly surprised anymore.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Long time, no see! Sorry this chapter took so long, I hit a bit of writers block. The end of this chapter was like pulling teeth and I reworked it a million times but I was finally about to find a direction that made sense. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. uwu

* * *

Sakura scrambled into the passenger seat of the blue Toyota as Kisame slid into the drivers seat and started the car. They were blasting down the dark street away from the main road before she even had time to buckle up. She pulled on her seatbelt, still trying to let what just happened soak in. She had most likely just witnessed Deidara commit arson in the name of art.

"Police?" Sakura asked again, voice raised a few octaves, looking to the blue-grey man beside her for an explanation. She desperately wanted him to say he was joking and reassure her that Deidara had some sort of permit and she hadn't just calmly watched a felony without knowing. Sakura was a good citizen! She had never committed a crime in her life; now she was probably a witness to large scale destruction of property. Kisame glanced at her and in the flash of light from the passing street lamps she swore he was grinning, sharp teeth gleaming.

"Deidara's art is a little bit... experimental." Kisame rounded a corner and smoothly rejoined the main road some distance away from the street leading to the roaring fire, backtracking in the direction of their apartment. They passed the entrance that lead to the warehouse just in time to see the firetrucks speed towards the smoking building.

"A little bit?" Sakura snapped back, face darkening as she began to seethe. She held in a few less than flattering remarks and let out a shaky breath instead, willing herself to calm down. "I'm going to have a chat with Itachi once we get back." She crossed her arms and glared out the window as two police cars passed them, lights flashing. She could have been arrested. Hell, she could have been seriously hurt. Did Itachi know this was what the exhibition was going to be like? Kisame didn't seem shocked so she doubted Itachi was ignorant of what was going to happen.

"Aw, don't be like that!" Kisame laughed, obviously finding this way more comical than she did. "That building was scheduled to be demolished anyway, he was practically doing them a favour. No harm, no foul, right?"

"He lit it on _fire_," Sakura emphasized, whipping her head to look at him and gave him an incredulous look. How could he be so calm about this? "Something _exploded_. Doesn't that bother you at all?"

"Not really," Kisame replied, "If there wasn't at least one fire, it wouldn't be Deidara's show. He's always careful; no one ever gets hurt. Well, only if you don't include him, but it's never serious."

"He's unbelievable..." she grumbled, glaring out the window again and fell silent.

Kisame shrugged, still grinning, but he wasn't going to try to dissuade her from giving Itachi an ear full apparently. The evening had not gone as she had planned. She was supposed to show up at a swanky art show wearing her nice dress, dazzle him with her undeniable charm, finally confess her feelings, which Kisame would hopefully reciprocate, and then they would ride off into the sunset or something. She had never imagined she would spend the evening witnessing a crime and evading the police. Now she was too worked up to even think about asking him out.

"Do you wanna get something to eat?" Kisame asked suddenly, sounding hopeful. "I didn't get a chance to have dinner before I left and I'm starving." She would have been thrilled if she wasn't envisioning what she was going to say to Itachi to make him feel guilty for sending her off to the now flaming building without at least warning her.

"_No._" Sakura hissed. She felt bad for the sharp tone, but she really wasn't up for a civil conversation right now. Sakura softened her voice and added: "I just really want to go home now." They were quiet the rest of the way home, giving her ample time to simmer.

It was close to midnight when they rolled into the parking lot. Once they were parked Sakura got out, slammed the door and headed inside, not bothering to wait for Kisame who was wise enough to stay out of her way. She stomped up the four flights of stairs, hammered on the door, and waited with arms crossed for the elder Uchiha brother to answer. Itachi's face paled when he saw her.

"Was it that bad?" Itachi ventured cautiously, shrinking back from her glare and allowed her to storm into the living room.

"So you _did_ know," Sakura quipped, pointing an accusatory finger at him. Itachi flinched and the apologetic look on his face almost dampened her ire. _Almost_. "He set an entire warehouse on fire. What the _fuck_." She waited for what she sincerely hoped was an appropriate apology.

"I was not aware that was his plan this time..." Itachi replied quietly, attempting to remove himself from blame. She narrowed her eyes.

"But you _knew_ he might do something like this," she jabbed him in the chest with her index finger, hard. Itachi looked completely out of his depths, holding his hands slightly in front of him, ready to block if she started throwing punches. She wasn't so angry she would hit him, but she was pleased he was taking her seriously.

"I am aware that he is a bit... unconventional in his approach, yes, but..." He stopped when it looked like she was going to start yelling again. He changed his approach and conceded; he knew he was in the wrong. "I'm very sorry, Sakura. I though it would be a good opportunity for you to-" He stopped speaking abruptly when Kisame strode in the still open door.

"Opportunity for what?" Kisame asked, giving Sakura a wide berth and went directly to the kitchen to root around in the fridge for a late night snack. Her mouth opened and then closed, searching for something to say. She forgot he was coming up the stairs right behind her. If he had been a few seconds later she would have another reason to yell at Itachi.

"Nothi-" Itachi started but Sakura quickly cut him off.

"I was just saying a few days ago how I hadn't seen Deidara in a while and he suggested his show would be a good opportunity to see him again." She knew it sounded suspicious as soon as she had said it. Her voice was too high pitched and she had answered too readily; she had panicked. At least it wasn't totally a lie, she had wanted to see Deidara again. He seemed like a nice, normal guy when she met him at the party; now she wasn't so sure 'normal' was the right descriptor.

Kisame gave them both a strange look, aware there was something going on but didn't pursue it. He retreated into his bedroom with half a leftover sandwich, lest Sakura decided to yell at him too. When he shut his door Sakura gave Itachi one final seething glance and stomped out without another word.

Sakura ignored Itachi for the next week, much to his dismay. She only acknowledged him slightly when he came to collect Kuro, helping him sneak through the hall unseen by the landlord, and coldly left without a word once the cat was safely back in his apartment. She felt a twinge of guilt when she caught a glimpse of the deep frown on the Uchiha's perfect lips as she passed by him but that was easily squashed. He could stand to feel a bit bad for a few days.

Kisame was waiting for her outside of her door one morning when she was leaving to catch her bus. She looked up at him in surprise, not expecting to see him there.

"You need to forgive Itachi."

She studied his face. "Why would I do that?" she sniffed and started down the hall toward the stairs. Kisame kept pace with her to plead his case.

"Look: I can't live with Itachi while he's sulking," he sighed, raking a hand thought his navy hair as he casually sauntered beside her, traps bulging under his shirt. "He's quiet enough normally, but now he's just... gloomy. He's bringing me down; even that cat is acting weird."

Sakura paused at the top step and theatrically crossed her arms, tapping her chin with one finger as if she really had to think about it. She was still angry but she supposed it was about time to let him off the hook. She could only stay mad at him for so long; he had been trying to help after all. And maybe, just _maybe_, she was being a bit harsh.

A sly smile spread across her face; maybe he was still helping.

"How about this: I'll forgive him if you take me out to for coffee some time." It was worth a shot, right? It wasn't too date-y, but it was close enough. Besides, it was probably a good idea to get to know him a bit before risking their friendship on an awkward date now that she had really thought about it.

"Deal," Kisame agreed quickly, sticking out a hand to shake on it.

"It has to be somewhere nice, somewhere where we can sit for a while," she stated, reaching out and grasped his hand tightly. "You have to get me a muffin too."

"Sure, whatever you say," he breezed. Itachi was right; he as oblivious. It evidently didn't even cross his mind that this could have been a date, even though it wasn't. "Anything to get him back to normal. How about today? After your shift; I'll pick you up when you're ready and we can go straight there."

"Perfect," Sakura beamed. The weather had warmed up significantly now that spring was officially here, but it was still brisk, especially once the sun went down, so it was going to be great to get a drive home. She winked at him and continued down the stairs, looking over her shoulder to call back at him. "I'll text you."

'I'm ready when you are,' Sakura wrote, 'I'll be by the front doors.' She hit send and waited for his response, suddenly nervous. This wasn't a date. But it sure felt like one. She had to remind herself that it was all one sided anyway; there was no way that Kisame was thinking about it like this. He probably thought of this as just two friends grabbing coffee, meanwhile she was standing in the vestibule between the two sets of doors of the hospital fiddling with her hair in the glass reflexion wishing she had put on more makeup before she left that morning.

Her cellphone vibrated. 'I'll be there soon.'

Sakura shuffled her feet and kept her eyes peeled for the blue Toyota. She shouldn't have put her hair up in a ponytail earlier; there was a definite kink from the elastic and it just wouldn't lie flat now. It was habit that she just couldn't break, even though it wasn't necessary now that her hair was short but every time she left it down she could hear her mentor yelling at her to pull it up out of her face.

She ran a hand through her hair again, becoming more antsy the longer she waited. This _wasn't_ a date! Why should she be nervous?

After a few minutes, she relocated to standing outside so she could pace without getting in the way of the people coming and going through the automatic doors. He would be there soon, as long as the traffic wasn't too bad. Sakura pulled the collar of her coat up to better shield her neck from the stiff wind and shivered. From here she could see the sun just starting to set, the sky slowly melting from blue to orange with hits of pink and purple, as the temperature began to dip even lower. She could also see the almost flowering cherry blossom trees that lined the street and ran along the paths of the nearby park. Spring couldn't come sooner, in Sakura's opinion. She had had enough of the cold weather.

The sound of a car horn snapped her attention toward the blue car that had pulled up across the street, Kisame waiting in the drivers seat. She glanced both ways before she hurried across the street.


End file.
